LOBOS COME UP BIG IN TEXAS
Junior scores 28 in back-and-forth battle
Aisia Robertson’s monster game lifts UNM to a double-overtime road win over Houston.
HOUSTON — Aisia Robertson pretty much did it all for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team Saturday.
It was barely enough. Robertson posted a quadruple double and hit a clutch go-ahead 3-pointer late in the second overtime as UNM pulled out a wild 89-84 victory over the Cougars at H&PE Arena on Texas Southern University’s campus.
The junior transfer racked up 28 points — eight in the second OT period — to go with 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 12 turnovers as the Lobos improved to 3-1. Jaisa Nunn added 21 points and 12 rebounds for UNM.
New Mexico led most of the way and had a 13-point advantage in the second quarter, but pulling out a win over the highpressure Cougars (3-4) proved to be anything but easy. The teams combined for 57 turnovers, 34 of them by the Lobos on 22 Houston steals.
“The way they play will make you a little crazy,” UNM coach Mike Bradbury said of the Cougars in a postgame phone interview, “and we did some crazy things at times. But this game was honestly about what I expected, back and forth between two really good athletic teams. Our players battled and battled and battled to come out with a win. I’m proud of them.”
Both teams had opportunities to win before the second overtime. Nunn hit one of two free throws with 5.6 seconds left in regulation to give UNM a 68-66 lead, but Lobo freshman Ahlise Hurst was called for a foul on Jasmyne Harris’ 3-point try with 1.7 seconds left. Harris made two of three free throws to send the game to overtime.
New Mexico scored the first seven points of OT, including a 3-pointer by Jayla Everett who
scored 17 points. But Houston answered with an 8-0 run to take a 76-75 lead before Robertson split two late foul shots to force a second extra period.
Hurst, who made her first collegiate start, gave UNM a lead with her third 3-pointer of the game, but the Cougars would pull even at 84 on an Alyssa Okoene layup with 51 seconds left. Robertson followed with the go-ahead 3-pointer, and Everett ultimately sealed the win with two free throws.
“We should have won in regulation and the first OT,” Bradbury said, “but I like that we didn’t get down after mistakes. We just kept fighting and a lot of people chipped in. A.R. (Robertson) was great.”
Hurst finished with 11 points for UNM, which hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday. Harris led Houston with 28 points, while Okoene had 12 points and 19 rebounds.